Excavating-machine



J. A. MACKILLICAN AND F. L. LIPCSEY.

EXCAVATING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 18, 191B.

' 1,351 ,212, Patented Aug. 31,1920.

2 SHEETS-SHEET l.

J. A. MAcKILLICAN AND F. L. LIPCSEY.

EXCAVATING MACHINE.

APPLlCATlON FILED SEPT. 18, 1918.

1 35 1 2 1 2 Patented Aug. 31, 1920.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JAMES A. MACKILLICAN AND FRANK L.- LIPCSEY, 0F HIBBING, MINNESOTA.

EXCAVATING-MACHINE.

' Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented 1 111 2 31, 1920.

Application filed September 18, 1918. Serial No. 254,558.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, JAMES A. MACKTLLT- CAN, a citizen of the United States, and F RANK L. LrrosnY, a subject of the Emperor of Austriallungary, both residing at'I-libhing, in the county of St. Louis and State of Minnesota, have invented new and useful Improvements in Excavating-Machines, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to excavating and loading machines, and more particularly to machines of the shoveling type.

Among the objects of our invention is to improve the construction of machines of the character referred to, in the several particulars as will hereinafter more fully appear, and to provide in particular a machine so constructed that the cost of excavating and loading will be reduced to the minimum, and further that such machine may not only operate on the surface of the ground but will be so compact and low that it may be used underground, as in mines, tunnels, subways, and the like, where both vertical and lateral space is restricted and the use of the socalled steam shovel is rendered impractical. A further object of our invention. is to pro vide a construction whereby the shovel or scoop at the forward end of the machine may be given a straight forward thrust into the material to be handled in order to fill. the

shovel with a load before the shovel is raised into dumping position for discharging its lead into a car, hopper, or other device provided for receiving the same. A further object of our invention is to provide a compact machine, requiring very'little room to operate in, and with a comparatively few operative parts, thereby reducing the cost of construction and maintenance and avoiding the necessity of skilled operators.

matters hereinafter described and more particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

In the accompanying drawings Figure 1 is a side elevational view of an. excavating machine constructed 1n accord-- ance with our inventlon, the parts beingshown in the positions they occupy when the shovel is to be thrust into the material to be Fig. 3 is a side elevational view. of one of the side or guide plates of the machine, the same being shown removed from the machine for the sake of clearness of illustration;

Fig. 4 is a side elevational view of said machine with the shovel shown raised into dumping position;

Fig. 5 is a transverse vertical sectional view taken on line 5.-5 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 6 is a side elevational view of one of the lever arms of themachine; and

Figs. 7 and 8 are views of details of con struction to be hereinafter more fully described.

As shown in the drawings, an excavating machine embodying the features of our invention comprises a car or truck 10 having wheels 11, 11, which roll on rails 12, 12, the latter being prolonged forward as the excavating progresses. Said car 10 is provided with a flat floor or platform 13, or other supporting structure, upon which is mounted a turn-table 14 designed to be turned in a horizontal plane, so that the shovel of our machine may reach corners of working places. Said turn-table 14 is spaced vertically above the floor 13 at its rear end by superposed spacing blocks 15, and is connected with the floor 13 at such end by a vertically arranged pivot pin 16 extending throughsuch parts and the interposed spacing blocks 15. The forward end of said turn-table 14 rests on roller-bearings 17, which may be connected-with the under side of said turn-table so as toroll over the;

j may be moved manually as by pushing The invention consists further in the either on theturn-table or the structure mounted thereon, or by any form of mechanical means (not shown) that may be provided for that purpose.

Mounted on said turn-table 14 are two upright frame members or plates 18, 18 laterally spaced apart and securedto said turntable in any desired manner, as by fastening bolts 19, 19 inserted throughbase flanges or lugs 20, 20 provided on the frame members for that purpose, as shown in the draw ings. Said members 18, 18 extend lengthwise of said turn-table 14 from one end thereof, preferably the rear end of the same, and terminate short of the opposite or forward end thereof, as shown in Figs. 1, 2, and 4:, or said frame members 18, 18 may extend the full length of said turn-table, if desired. Mounted on said turn-table 1 1 and extending beyond the forward ends of said frame members 18, 18, is a horizontally arranged. cylinder 21. The latter extends lengthwise of the turn-table and is centrally arranged with respect to said frame members 18, 18. Said cylinder 21 is rigidly secured to said turn-table in any desired manner, such as by clamp bolts 22 inserted through laterally projecting lugs or flanges 23 provided on said cylinder for that purpose. Located in said cylinder is a piston at (Fig. 2), which is reciprocated back and forth in said cylinder by a motive fluid, such as compressed air, steam, or the like. Such motive fluid is admitted into said cylinder from any source of supply by means of an inlet pipe 25, and is controlled by suitable valves provided as a part of the cylinder construction in accordance with the well known practice. Connected with said piston 24; is a piston rod 26 extending beyond the cylinder 21 through one end thereof, preferably the rear end. Said piston rod 26 extends between said side members 18, 18, and is connected at its rear end with a main shaft 2? by a head 28. Said shaft 27 is horizontally arranged and extends between said side members 18, 18 above the turn-table 1a and in direct alinement with the piston rod 26. Said shaft 27 is provided at its ends with enlarged squared parts 29, 29, which serve as runners and have movement endwise of elongated slots 30, 30 provided in the side members 18, 18, there being one of such slots in each side member, as shown.

The head 28 is provided with a rigid depending part 31, through which extends a horizontally arranged shaft 32. Said shaft 32 is arranged vertically below the main shaft 27, and is substantially parallel therewith. Arranged between the side members 18, 18 are two lever arms 33, 33, laterally spaced apart and being made alike. Each lever arm has the shape as shown in Fig. 6, and, as will be noted, each arm has an enlarged portion 34 forming the lower end of the arm and a reduced shank or neck portion 35 extending upward. from the center of said portion 3 1. Said arms 33 are preferably arranged with their lower ends 34 on 33 is provided in the shank or upper portion thereof with an elongated slot 37 extending lengthwise of the arm and through which extends a horizontally arranged rod 38, located above the main shaft 27 and extending between the side plates 18', 18. Said rod 38 has its ends received and slidably mounted in slots 39, 39, one in each side plate 18. Said slots 39 extend lengthwise of said side plate 18, and are located above and substantially pa 'allel with the slots 30 but considerably shorter than the same, for the purpose to be described presently. The ends of said rod 38 project slighly beyond the side plates 18, 18, and are there provided with enlarged or other parts to prevent endwise displacement of said rod. Each arm 33 is provided with an arc-shaped slot 10, through which the main shaft 27 extends. Said slot 1 0 is located in the enlarged lower part 34. of said arm 33, and is above the hole 36 therein.

Located above the side plates 18, 18 and extending across the same is a stirrupshaped lift-bar 41 having intermediate its ends two rearwardly projecting lugs 42, 12, one for each arm 33 and to which the upper or outer end of the arm 33 is connected by a horizontally arranged pivot pin 13. As shown in the drawings, the upper ends of said arms 33 are bifurcated to receive said lugs 42. The ends of said lift-bar tl are connected with outwardly projecting lugs 4 1 on the shovel arms -15 by horizontally arranged pivot pins 46. T he ends of said liftbar 11 are bifurcated to receive said lugs 44. Said shovel arms 1-:' are two in number, and are arranged one on each side of the machine and extending lengthwise thereof. Said lugs 4A are arranged intermediate the ends of said shovel arms as, and the latter are connected together at the forward end of the machine by a transverse member or bar 5 .7. A scoop or shovel 48 is rigidly connected with the forward ends of said shovel arms 15, so as to be raised and lowered therewith when the shovel arms are swung upward and downward during the operation of the machine. T he opposite ends of said shovel arms 15, 45 are connected with the main shaft 27 in the following manner. Secured to and extending upward from each squared part 29 of said main shaft 27 is a plate 4-9 arranged outside of the side plate 18. The adjacent end of the shovel arm is pivotally connected with said plate 4!) by a horizontal pivot pin 50, so that the shovel arms may be swung freely about said pins.

The machine shown and described operates in the following manner. ll hen the parts occupy the positions shown in Figs. 1, 2, and 5, the shovel 48 is in front of the machine and in position to be thrust forward into the material to be excavated, so as to fill the shovel with a load. At such time the piston 24 is at the rear end of the cylinder 21, as shown in Fig. 2,. and in position to be moved forward upon the admission of motive fluid into said cylinder. When the parts are so positioned, the car or truck 10 is moved toward the material to be excavated until the shovel 48 engages the same or is in close proximity thereto, whereupon the motive fluid is admitted into the cylinder 21 and the piston 24 moved for ward, carrying therewith the piston rod 26 and connected parts. The shovel 48 is given a straight forward thrust into the material in order to collect a load before being given any upward movement into dumping position. The rod 38 is moved forward in the slot 39, thereby allowing the shovel 48 to be given a straight forward thrust. Said slots 39 are so arranged and have such length as to permit the shovel 48 to fill itself to its fullest capacity before being raised into dumping position. WVhile the rod 38 is sliding forward in the slots 39, the arms 33, 33 meet with no resistance and follow the rod and consequently retain substantially the same angular position as shown in Figs. 1 and 2. When the rod 38 strikes or comes into contact with the forward ends of said slots 39, further forward movement of said rod is arrested and the rod maintained stationary, thereby stopping further forward bodily movement of said arms. hen this happens, the arms 33 are caused to be swung about said rod 38 as a fixed pivotal point, due to the fact'that the lower ends of said arms are swung forward in the continued forward movement of the piston rod 26. The arms 33 also turn about the shaft 32 as the latter is carried forward with the piston rod 26. As the lower ends of said arms 33 are moved forward, their upper ends are swung rearward, with the result that the arms 33 act as levers and exert an upward pull on the lift-bar 41, which transmits such lift to the shovel arms, swinging the latter upward about their pivot pins 50 and raising the shovel 48 into a position above the machine, as shown in Fig. 4,

whereupon the load is dumped or discharged out of the rear of the shovel onto a belt conveyer or into a hopper or a car, or any other receptacle that may be provided behind the machine for that purpose. As shown in the drawings, the shovel arms 45 are of such length to swing the shovelto the rear of the machine for dumping purposes. It is of course to be understood that the car 10 the arc-shaped slots 40 enable the arms to swing relatively to said main shaft 27, while the latter exerts a forward pull on the lower ends of said arms to give the same their swinging motion. The slots 37 permit the required amount of lost motion to be had between the rod 38 and the lever arms. After the shovel 48 has been swung into position to dump or discharge its load, the piston 24 is reeiproeated back toward its starting point or rear end of the cylinder and the shovel 48 caused to descend into a position in front of the machine and again to be thrust forward to repeat the operation just described. During such movement the rod 38 strikes the rear ends of the slots 39, thereby allowing the lever arms to swing again about said rod for bringing the shovel into its fully lowered position. This cycle of operations is continued as long as the excavating operation with our machine is continued. The entire machine is moved forward on its truck 10, as desired. The piston rod 26 constitutes an endwise movable member of the prime mover of the machine.

With the parts constructed and arranged as shown, the machine is rendered compact and embodies the minimum number of parts, thereby reducing the cost of construction and maintenance of the mechanism. Moreover, the parts are rendered readily accessible for repair and replacement, and the machine is so simple and durable in construction that it may be operated efiiciently by the most inexperienced labor. The mach ne being compact, it requires but a small amount of operating room, thereby especially fitting it to be used in places of restricted dimensions, such as for underground work, in mines, tunnels, drifts, subways, and the like. The lever arm arrangement permits the machine to be built low for this purpose, and further to gain positiveness of operation with but a single cylinder. Other and further advantages will be apparent to those skilled in the art to which our invention relates.

l/Vhile we have shown and described in detail an excavating machine embodying the features of our invention, it is of course to be understood that the details of construction and arrangement of parts illus trated may be variously changed and modified without departing from the spirit and scope of our invention. I

l/Ve claim as our invent-ion: 1. In an excavating mach1ne,.1n combination, a shovel adapted to be swung from a normal position in front of said machine into and out of dumping posltion above the same, means for glvmg said shovel a straight forward thrust in front of said ma 'chine,'means located entirely to the rear of said shovel when at the front of the ma chine for guiding the same during its &

straight forward thrust, and means automatically brought into operation at the completion of the straight forward thrust of said shovel for swinging the same into its dumping position and to return the shovel to its normal position in front of the machine after said shovel has reached its dumping position.

2. In an excavating machine, in combination, a shovel arm pivoted at its inner end, a shovel secured to the free end of said arm and adapted to be swung with said arm from a normal position in front of the ma chine into and out of dumping position above the same, means connected with the rear end of said shovel arm for giving said shovel a straight forward thrust in front of said machine, and means located to the rear of said shovel and automatically brought into operation at the completion of the straight forward thrust of said shovel to apply power on said shovel arm intermediate the ends thereof for swinging said shovel into dumping position and to return the same to its normal position in front of the machine after reaching its dumping position.

3. In an excavating machine, in combination, a shovel arm pivoted at its rear end, a shovel secured to the free end of said arm and adapted to be swung with said arm from a normal position in front of the machine into and out of dumping position above said machine, means connected with said arm for giving the shovel a straight forward thrust in front of said machine, a lever arm fulcrumed on said machine and having pivotal connectionat one end with the rear end of said shovel arm and pivotal connection at its outer end with the shovel arm between the ends thereof, means permitting said lever arm to move bodily with said shovel arm during a part of its movement, and stop members against which the fulcrum of said lever arm is brought in the movement of said shovel arm for turning said lever arm about its fulcrum and swinging the shovel into and out of its dumping position.

4. In an excavating machine, in combination, a support, a shovel arm pivoted at its inner end, a shovel secured to the free end of said arm and adapted to be swung there with from a normal position in front of said support into and out of dumping position above the same, means connected with the inner end of said shovel arm for giving said shovel a straight forward thrust in front of said support, a lever arm arranged above said support and having pivotal connection at its lower end with the inner end of said shovel arm and pivotal connection at its upper end with said shovel arm between the ends thereof, a guide member on said support having therein a substantially straight elongated slot permitting the lever arm to move bodily with said shovel arm during a part of its movement, and a rod engaged with said lever arm between the ends thereof and extending into said slot, and adapted when brought into contact with the ends of said slot to arrest the bodily movement of said arm so that the same may be turned about said rod for swinging said shovel into and out of its dumping position.

5. In an excavating machine, in combination, a shovel, an endwise movable member, means for reciprocating said member, an arm connected at one end with said shovel and having pivotal connection at the other end with said member, a guide member provided with two elongated, substantially parallel slots, one being shorter than the other and having its ends terminating short of the ends of the longer slot, a transverse shaft connected with said endwise movable member and extending into the longer of said slots, a lever arm pivoted at one end to said endwise movable member and having connection with said shaft, said lever arm having pivotal connection at the other end with said shovel arm, and a rod engaged with said lever arm between its ends and extending into the shorter slot for effecting the swinging of said shovel into and out of its dumping position.

6. In an excavating machine, in combination, a shovel, an endwise movable member, means for reciprocating said member, a plate provided with two elongated, substantially parallel slots, one beingshorter than the other and having its ends terminating short of the ends of said longer slot, a shaft arranged transverse to and connected with said endwise movable member and extending into the longer of said slots, an arm connected at one end with said shovel and having pivotal connection at its opposite end with said shaft, a lever arm pivotally connected at one end with said endwise movable member and provided with an areshaped slot through which said shaft extends, said lever arm having pivotal connection at its opposite end with said shovel arm, and a rod engaged with said lever arm between its ends and extending into the shorter slot for effecting the swinging of the shovel into and out of its dumping position.

7. In an excavating machine, in combination, a shovel, an endwise movable member, means for reciprocating said member, a plate provided with two elongated, substan tially parallel slots, one being shorter than the other and having its ends terminating short of the ends of the longer slot, a head secured to said endwise movable member at one end thereof, a shaft arranged transverse to and connected with said head and extending into the longer of said slots, an arm connected at one end with said shovel and having pivotal connection at its opposite end with said shaft, a lever arm pivotally connected at one end with said head and having an arc-shaped slot through which said shaft extends, said lever arm having pivotal connection at its opposite end with said shovel arm, and a rod projecting transversely through an elongated slot in said lever arm and extending into the short slot in said plate for efi'ecting the swinging of said shovel into and out of its dumping position.

8. In an excavating machine, in combination, a shovel, an endwise movable member, means for reciprocating said member, a pair of guide plates laterally spaced apart and between which said endwise movable member has movement, each plate being provided with two slots, one being shorter than the other with its ends terminating short of the ends of the longer of said slots, a pair ofarms, each connected at one end with said shovel and having pivotal connection at the opposite end with said endwise movable member, a pair of lever arms, each being pivotally connected at one end with said endwise movable member and having pivotal connection at the opposite end with a liftbar, the latter extending between said shovel arms and having pivotal connection therewith intermediate the ends thereof, and a rod extending between said plates and having its ends projecting into the short slot in said plates, said rod extending through elongated slots in said lever arms.

9. In an excavating machine, in combina tion, a turn-table, a cylinder mounted thereon, a piston in said cylinder and being provided with a piston rod extending beyond one end of said cylinder, a guide member secured to said turn-table and provided with two elongated, substantially parallel slots, one being longer than the other, a shaft connected with said piston rod and provided with a runner slidably mounted in the longer slot, a shovel, an arm secured at one end to said shovel and having pivotal connection at the opposite end with said runner, a lever arm having pivotal connection at one end with said piston rod and being provided with an arc-shaped slot through which said shaft extends, said lever arm having pivotal connection at its opposite end with said shovel arm, a rod projecting into the short slot and extending through an elongated slot in said lever arm, and a car upon which said turn-table is mounted.

In testimony that we claim the foregoing as our invention, we ailix our signatures in the presence of two witnesses, this lath day of September, A. D. 1918.

JAMES A. MAGKILLIOAN. FRANK L. LIPCSEY.

Vitnesses:

D. H. FREDIN, H. F. STEWART. 

